Ore-disintegrator.



L. sT'. D. BGYLANCE.- ORE D|S|N'TEGRATon.-

APPLICATIONv lFILED DEC.27. 1912.

1,142,462.v Patented Jun s, 1915.

LEON sT. D. 'RoYLANCrr or sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

ORE-DISINTEGRATOR.

Application led December 27, 1912;' Serial No. 738,830.

To all w71 omr it may concern Be it known that I, LEON ST. D. ROI- LANCE, a citizen of the Unitedr States, of.

America, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore Disintegrators, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the apparatus used in the disintegration of rebellious ores and, 'more particularly, to that class of apparatus in which an electric current is used to `effect or aid the separation of the metals and disintegration of the ores.

The objects of my invention are to provide a simple, cheap and efficient apparatus for lto this purpose in which means for agitating the ores undergoing treatment is included; inwhi'ch means for scouring the ores is provided and in which a plurality of active disintegrating zones are arranged.

With these and such other objects in view as may hereinafter more `fully appear, my invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts; it being under-l stood, however, that sli ht changes in details and constructionai arrangement may be resorted to without departing from the` scope of this invention; hereinafter more fully described and claimed and whichv are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 1s a plan view of the device a.. portion of the cover being cut away. Fig. .p

2 is a vertical, longitudinal section of the saine, a hood for the open form of tank being also shown partly in vertical section and partly in elevation. Fig. 3 is an illustration of the electrolytic dissociation. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a method of connecting the electrodes.

Referring to said drawings by numerals; a tank 1, of any suitable form and material,

is provided with an inner curved wall 2 eX- tending from the top of one end of the tank to a position near the center of the bottom. Said wall 2 is provided with a scouring surface 3 formed of any suitable material, but preferably of concrete or unglazed tile. At the end of said tank opposite that at which wall 2 is placed is an inwardly projecting wall or partition 4 forming within said tank the compartment 5, said wall 4 terminating near the bottom of said tank to form the slot 6 for a purpose hereinafter explained and- Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented June s', 1915'.

described.I At a convenient `point near the top of said tank is placed a suitable chargmg port 7 and, near the bottom, a discharge port S. A man hole 9 of any suitableform is provided in the top of said tank, said man tank is'. .further provided, at vconvenient points, with a safety, or escape valve 10, a pressure gage 11, thermometer 12 and a water or'electrolyte gage 13. For the pur pose of maintaining a suitable heat steam hole being closed with a cover 9a and said I coil 14, connected to a suitable exterior source of heat supply, is providedl at any convenient point within said tank. vIn one end of said tank, and toward the top thereof,` is provided an opening to permit the intake ofa pump 15 to communicate with the interior of said tank. Said pump may be of anyk suitable design but preferably a power driven centrifugal pump is used. The eX- haust of said y pump 15 communicates through a suitable opening in the end of said tank with the aforementioned compartment 5, formed betweenthe end yand bottom of said tank and the aforementioned wall or partition 4. Within said tank and arranged in suitably spaced relation are the plates 16, said plates being held in position by the properlyV insulated rods 17 adapted to engage the openings 18 formed in said plates.

The said plates 16 are in communication with a suitable source of yelectric current supply -19 through the circuit` 20 which has interposed therein an automatic quick-break ole changing switch 21.y It is of course understood that the plates 16 may be put in electricalcontact in any manner desired but, by preference, theouter or end plates are connectcddireotly to the circuit 20 thereby forming main electrodes. The plates interposed between these end or outer plates have no` metallic connection therewith lor with each other the only connecting medium between them being the electrolyte in which they are immersed. These linterposed plates will be found, when the current is on, to be .electrically active the faces thereofbecom- The tank so far described is of the closed variety intended more especially for use in v those cases where a hig degree of heat and a consequent pressure are desirable. For

the treatment of substances requiring the4 ordinary lower temperatures the/open form of tank is more convenient. Such tank is, in the main, similar to that described except that the top with its manhole and other fittings is discarded, as is also the charging port 7. In place of the top 9, the tank is provided with a removable funnel shaped hood 22, shown most clearly in F ig. 2, provided with the vent or exhaust pipe 23 adapted to carry off the gases arising from the tank. The exhaust pipe 23 is provided with a damper or check valve 24 to control the escape of. said gases.

Having described the structure of the tank, it is necessary, for a more perfect un-y derstanding of the device, that a brief description of its operation and the action taking )lace therein be given. The chemical solution or electrolyte, the composition of.

which will depend upon the ore to be treated, with the pulverized ore held in suspen- 1 sion therein, is introduced into the tank after having been heated to hasten the chemical action. The solution is kept in circulation or agitation while in the tank through the action of pump 15 which draws the solution, from near the surface thereof, through the intake to said pump and discharges the same into compartment 5 from whence it is discharged, by the force of said pump, through the narrow slot G. By passing through slot 6 the discharged solution is caused to spread over the bottom of the tank and impinge upon the surface 3 of curved wall 2. Curved wall 2 being provided with an abrading surface, as heretofore described the particles of ore are necessarily scoured by contact therewith rendering them more susceptibleto chemical and electrical action. The circulation or agitation of the solution causes the same to be continually passing, and the particles of 1ore therewith, between the plates 16. The plates beingelectrically active electro-chemical action takes place in the solution causing a separation of the metal from the other ingredients. This action is illustrated for water, in Fig. 3. In line a are represented molecules of water in their usual state. In line b is shown the action of electricity thereon, the I-Iz of the molecule nearest the v negative plate being liberated and the 0 of the molecule nearest the positive plate also being liberated each intervening molecule gives up its two atoms of I'I and its atom of O to form a new molecule.

To more fully illustrate the action taking place let us take a simple electrolyte such as water with enough rock salt (NaCl) added thereto to sufficiently reduce the resistance to suit the electric current'conditions. In the solution or electrolyte let us place a pulverized rebellious are containing gold, silver, arsenic, antimony, zinc, sulfur and iron. 'Ihe pump being put in operation and the electric current applied, the following takes place The 'wateris decomposed, hydrogen (H2) being liberated at the negative sideof the plates or electrodes and oxygen (O) at the positive. The next reaction is that of trolyte, forming sodium hydrate and liber-I ating hydrogen. It will be noted, from the above, that we have three very active ele-- or are oxidized into a state capable of being broken up by the scrubbing and scouring action due to the particles impinging upon the abrading surface of the curved wall of the tank. The gold is not acted upon by any of the elements or compounds formed within the electrolyte. The silver is but slightly affected by the chlorin as the process of' treatment does not exceed four hours. rIhe antimony combines with hydrogen forming stibin (SbII), also with chlorin forming antimony trichlorid (SbCl3) Thearsenic combines with hydrogen forming arsin (ASIIS).

The zinc combines with chlorin forming bichlorid of zinc (ZnClz). The'sulfur combines with hydrogen forming sulfureted hydrogen (I-IZS). The iron combines with oxygen to form ferrous oXid (FeO) and also with chlorin to form ferrous chlorid (FeClz). In addition to the above we have the possibility of forming such compounds as sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and hydrochloric acid (HC1) which are excellent oxidizing agents and are made possible by the circulating action of the agitating pump.

Some electrolytes which are necessary toL be usedwith certain characters of ore, causea polarizing or counter electromotive force at the electrodes. This may be overcome by increasing the electromotive force at the source of supply which would mean more power for the same electrochemical effect. It is for the purpose of overcoming this polarization without increase of current that I insert the automatic quick-break pole changing switch 21 in the circuit. 'Ihesaid switch is operated preferably, by a small variable speed motor, not shown, and is capable of a wide range of changes, the same being controlled by the speed of the motor. The period of pole changing is, of course, adgusted to suit the most efficient conditions of the polarizing electrodes. In Fig. 4 is shown another method for overcoming the excessive power required for poiarized electrodes wherein I arrange and yconnect the electrodes in parallel or multiple as shown. It is, of course, understood that the ore, afterunder-` going the treatment hereinbefore described, is in a free state ready for amalgamation by any of the standard amalgamators.

yHaving described my invention, what I claim as new and desire by Letters Patent,

l. In an ore disintegrator,a tank for holding the solution containing the ore, an abrading surface within said tank, electrodes positioned within said tank and means for casing the contents of said tank to circulate to impinge upon said abrading surface and pass between said electrodes.

2. In an ore disintegrator, a tank for holding the solution containing the ore, an abrading surface within said tank, electrodes positioned within said tank, a compartment provided with an elongated opening to said tank positioned opposite said i 3. In an ore disintegrator, a tank for' holding the solution containing the ore, an abrading surface within said tank, means for producing chemically active zones within said tank .and mechanism for circulating the solution and ore to impinge upon said abrading surface and pass through said zones. A ,Y

4. In an ore disintegrator, a tank for holding the -solution containing the ore, an abrading surface Withinl said -tank, elec. trodes positioned within said tank, means for causing the contents of said tank to circulate to impinge upon said abrading sur face and pass between said electrodes and automatic means for changing the polarity of said electrodes.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' LEON ST. D. ROYLANCE.

Witnesses: t F. C. RATHAUS, J. O. DRrsooLL. 

